Technical Details
| Blend | Mencia, Merenzao and Brancellao |
| Country | Spain |
| Region | Valdeorras |
| Alcohol | 12 |
| Production | 2000 bottles cases |
Escalada do Bibei Valdeorras 2016
Proprietary Blends | Spain
$44.95 $69.00 - 750mL
Just over 2,000 bottles of this rare wine were made for the world! A US exclusive and a wine well-worth your attention. $69 retail, our price today is excellent! In a region mostly known for Godello today, the region of Valdeorras was once known for red wines, like the rare Merenzao grape. Located just North of the border of Portugal in between the regions of Bierzo and Ribeira Sacra, Valdeorras is an area that is becoming all the rage with young, ambitious winemakers from Spain. Today's missive is a unique blend of Mencia, Merenzao and Brancellao. It is light on its feet, super floral and incredibly fresh. Despite its relatively light color and low alcohol, it is quite concentrated and impressively mineral. This wine really has it all; rarity, pedigree, tradition, and very old-vines.
Be one of the few on this planet to own and drink some -- super limited!
PAIRING IDEAS: Rich body and savory acidity beg for something peppery and rich. We think steak au poivre hits the spot. Hard to go wrong with aged cheese, too -- try a Spanish one like aged Mahon or Manchego.
MUSIC SUGGESTIONS: We’re feeling something SPICY like the song Smooth from the legend Carlos Santana. This wine could “change your life to better suit your mood...cause it’s so smooth!
Technical Details
| Blend | Mencia, Merenzao and Brancellao |
| Country | Spain |
| Region | Valdeorras |
| Alcohol | 12% |
| Production | 2000 bottles cases |
About The Producer
Reviews
James Suckling
Really pretty herbs and spices here, as well as cranberries and paprika. Medium-bodied and edgy with laser-sharp acidity and punchy, polished tannins. Drink now.
Vinous
Lurid ruby color. High-pitched dark berry and cherry aromas are complicated by suggestions of dried rose, cola and exotic spices. Sappy and impressively concentrated, offering sweet dark fruit and floral pastille flavors that are energized by a core of juicy acidity. The impressively delineated finish repeats the spice and dark berry notes and lingers superb tenacity and gentle grip.
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
There is also a red from five field blends from small plots of old vines on the banks of the Bibei River on granite soils. The 2016 Escalada do Bibei has only 12% alcohol and a soft texture and velvety mouthfeel, polished by the élevage and time in bottle, two years ago now. If was foot trodden and matured in 228- and 500-liter oak barrels for 18 months. The wine is modern, clean and expressive, but I'd have liked a little less oak in the aromas and flavors. Despite its age, it still finishes quite tannic, marked by the élevage. It reminded me of some of the reds from Dominio do Bibei across the river. 2,000 bottles were filled in July 2018.